Brothers Windows Sacramento vs. Weatherite and Hall’s Andersen Windows
We have just completed an exhaustive search for replacement windows for our 25 year old home. We attended a home show in our area and made contact with several window companies. After many hours of research and several trips to the local showrooms we have finally selected Brothers Windows to do the job. I feel compelled to write so others may benefit from our findings. While this will be a long post I feel it will be beneficial to others.
Our first contact was with a salesman from Weatherite in Sacramento. He came to our house and met with us and explained everything to us in great detail about windows, what goes into the manufacturing and the differences we’ll find. He stated he had 29 Milgard windows in his house and stated they were not good windows and he’d like to replace them all, stating Milgard are entry level new construction type windows. He took measurements and said we should come to the showroom as they had several types of windows available. We had told him about wanting the best window for the money and he would provide us with estimates when we arrived. That next week we found ourselves in a showroom that is overwhelming, many different manufacturers to choose from. We finally decided on UniFrame windows. He worked up a quote for all Uniframe windows totaling over $31,000 for 13 windows and two sliding doors. Then he worked up a quote using UniFrame sliding doors and their own brand Performance windows at over $24,000. We were stunned at the price to say the least. He didn’t pressure us but when we told him we had Hall’s scheduled for a quote he wanted to know what it would take to ‘keep them out of our living room’. I told him we had to do our ‘due diligence’ and were not impulse buyers. Before we left he came down almost $6,000.
I sent out requests by email to 4 companies to contact me for a bid. Only two responded. The following Friday I had scheduled Hall’s and Brothers for quotes. Hall’s came in and looked everything over and said he’d work up a quote and call us to set up a meeting. Once again, no pressure and no talking bad about another manufactures products. We discussed what I’d seen at Weatherite and he never once said anything bad about their products. He left and within 30 minutes a representative contacted us to set up an appointment to get the quote.
Then Brother’s representative Frank Gonzales came and brought samples and we spoke of all of the research I’d done and experiences I’d had with other companies. We spoke for an hour or so and he surprised me with the fact he would give me a quote on the spot. His original quote was $10,360 and would approach $12,000 depending on grids or V Grooving the windows. I was shocked to say the least! My wife came home at the end of the presentation and Frank graciously went over everything with her again. A few days later my wife and I drove the 35 miles to the showroom to look at the product again. Frank was not there but we were helped by one of the ladies there and she said she’d let Frank know. He called me later and said he’d heard I’d been in and asked if I had any questions. Without fail he called my back right away when I left messages. I was left with the express feeling everyone in the company cared about their product and the customer. We scheduled another trip to the showroom after looking at Weatherite products again.
Later that week we met with Hall’s and spoke with the owner. We were impressed by their product, but not the warranty. There are loopholes in the warranty that leaves them an out at any time. I was surprise at the quote as they are notoriously over priced windows. They came in at $15,600 excluding the garden window. However, they did not offer V Groove in the windows so it was grids or nothing and we decided they were out of the running. We returned again to Brothers and met with Frank again and within minutes we’d decided to give them the bid. They scheduled a home visit with the head installer to do the final measurements and signed the contract. We decided on V Grooving the windows in the entire house at a cost of $290.00 per window and upgrading to French Sliding Doors with brushed nickel handles and kick latches, which raised the total to $14,600.
I received a call from the representative at Weatherite as a follow up. During every visit with him he stressed the type of space/seal used in the windows should be an Intercept. I told him we’d decided to go with Brothers. He was very upset and asked if we’d signed with them yet. I told him it was in a few days. He said he had a “new” Milgard window he’d like to quote us. I said “correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t you have Milgard in your house and you said they aren’t good?” He stammered for a minute then he said they were brand new windows Milgard had ‘just’ come out with. He said he’d call right back. 40 minutes later he said he’d ‘talked with the owner’ and would get me Milgard windows with Uniframe sliders for $15,600. He then said the Milgard uses the Intercept spacer and the Brothers does not. I told him I’d research it. Well, I discovered the Milgard Window had been out since at least June 2008 and they use the SAME spacer (per Milgard’s website) as the Brothers windows……I hate being lied too!
My point in this lengthy post is this…….Weatherite is highly overpriced! Buyer beware! Don’t be blinded by the amount of product they have in the showroom. They quoted me an install price of $6100 labor! To me that is insulting as he said it would take 3-4 guys maybe 12 hours. Brothers install is $1500. Find a company that your gut tells you is a good company. Do some online research, one company (Window World) stated they had their own installers yet a search of the company found 3 employees. They were not approved by the local utility company for financing and had not applied to the Better Business Bureau even though they’d been in business for some 14 months. Sometimes more expensive is just that, more expensive not better.
Since writing this post the windows have been installed! Brothers did a fabulous job and it took TWO installers approximately 9 hours. They were professional, on time and did excellent work. I’m extremely picky but they spotted a few minor problems with the windows. The office called me early the next morning to schedule repairs and were eager to get it done right! I couldn’t be happier with the windows.
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